ENID - After a successful trip to Arkansas last Wednesday, Northeastern A&M's Golden Norsemen resume play in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Tuesday with an 8 p.m. confrontation with the Jets of Northern Oklahoma College-Enid in the Mabee Center.


Coach Dustin Grover''s Golden Norse cruised to a 112-69 rout last Wednesday over the University of the Ozarks junior varsity in Clarksville, Ark. With the win the Norsemen are 5-5 on the season. The Norse are searching for their first win in the OCAC after dropping a 76-60 decision on Nov. 19 to Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa in the NEO Fieldhouse.
"We knew going into the season that with only two sophomores it was going to be a roller coaster ride, especially at least until the Christmas break," Grover said. "So far, things have worked out that way, although we appear to be getting better as the season goes on."
Starting his 12th season as the only head coach for NOC-Enid, Greg Shambaugh has guided the Jets to a 5-2 season prior to competing in the Hesston (Kan.) Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Jets faced the Tabor (Kan.) College junior varsity on Friday before playing Southeast (Neb.) Community College on Saturday. NOC-Enid is 0-1 in the OCAC after dropping a 73-65 decision at Redlands Community College in El Reno on Nov. 19.
Last season the Jets won the conference regular season title with a 14-4 record before suffering a 91-86 loss to Eastern State College in the Region II Tournament finals at Shawnee. The Jets finished 23-10 on the season and have appeared in three of the last five regional title games.
Paced by a 25-point performance by Dalen Qualls, the Jets roared to an 82-62 victory over the Golden Norse last season in the first game of the series at the NEO Fieldhouse. Xavier McClish added 15 and Rex Farmer scored 14 as the Jets built a 37-29 halftime lead. Chris Cox tallied 17 points to lead the Norsemen.
Making the trip to Enid in early February, the Golden Norse maintained a precarious 39-38 lead at intermission only to have the Jets complete the series sweep with an 81-64 win in the Mabee Center. Travis Carbajal led the Jets with 16 points and Qualls added 14 while Brandon White led all scorers with 22 total points for the Norsemen.
With eight returning sophomores, the Jets are led by guard Qualls (6-0 from Stratford, Okla.) with a 14.6 scoring average. He has recorded seven assists and 14 steals.
Veteran guard Connor Brooks (6-4 from Manhattan, Kan.) is averaging 13.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for NOC-Enid.
Sophomore forward Jeremy Espinoza (6-4 from Uvalde, Texas) leads the Jets with an 8.1 rebounding average while scoring 12.3 points per contest.
Veteran point-guard Kendall Dudley (5-11 from Putnam City West) leads the Jets with 28 assists and 24 steals while averaging 10 points a game.
Farmer (6-7 from Edmond) returns in the post position for the Jets with a 5.6 scoring average and a 4.7 rebounding mark.
Against the University of the Ozarks junior varsity last week, the Golden Norsemen had six players score in double figures while constructing a 56-31 lead at halftime. Eight points each by Frederico Santos, Jake Roach, Darron Claxton, Gerado Isla, Luther Thomas and Derrick Frye contributed to the Golden Norse run away in the first 20 minutes.
Freshman guard Darius Trabron (6-2 from Summit, Texas) led all scorers with 27 total points for the Eagles while freshman guard Spencer Coomer (5-8 from Piggott, Ark.) contributed 13 points and sophomore guard Aaron Johnson (6-1 from El Paso, Texas) added 10 points.
Claxton scored 19 points to lead the NEO scoring barrage while Santos contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds, Roach and Thomas 12 points each and Frye and Isla 11 points each.
NEO connected on 42 of 84, including a season-high 14 of 27 from 3-point range, for 52 percent from the field while limiting the Eagles to 26 of 58, including 8 of 23 from the 3-point area, for 45 percent from the field.